Breakfast – Spanish Omelette

There are omelettes, that fiendishly quick and artfully rolled egg dish best exemplified in classic French cooking and then there is everything else.

That’s not to say there are bad ways to prepare an omelette, it’s just that Spanish omelettes have suffered in comparison. And yet it’s the style of omelette that we are most familiar with: Cook a thin layer of beaten egg, add a spoon of filling and deftly fold half the egg over to encase the lot.

A spanish omelette refers principally to the rich tomato and paprika based filling but from there you can make it meat based or a vegetarian option. I’ve done it with tomato, capsicum and paprika but feel free to add some cubes of ham or some smoked chorizo to the mix. Potato cubes work well, as do a few left over roasted vegies from last night’s evening meal. The filling could easily be prepared the evening before so that you don’t need much more time than it takes to make a cup of coffee to go with it. This really is a wonderful late in the morning/early lunch dish or even a Sunday supper as well.

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

Filling: 1 red capsicum; 2 tbsp olive oil; 1 small red onion, finely diced; 2 tomatoes, seeds removed and finely diced; 1 tsp smoked paprika;  sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Omelette: 4 eggs; sea salt and freshly ground black pepper; 1 tbsp olive oil, extra; 20g butter

METHOD

Preheat oven to 190°C.

Filling: Place capsicum in a small roasting dish and drizzle with half the olive oil. Roast for 35-40 minutes, turning the capsicum over half way through the cooking, until the skin blisters and blackens. Remove the capsicum from the oven, place in a bowl and cover with cling wrap for five minutes to sweat, then remove the skin and seeds. Cut into strips.

While the capsicum is roasting, heat remaining oil in a small frypan over medium heat and add the onion. Sauté for four to five minutes until the onion softens and starts to colour. Add diced tomatoes and paprika and any other ingredients you want to add to the mix such as diced potatoes or slices of chorizo.

Cook for a further five minutes, stirring well, until the tomato cooks down a little and the potato (if you are using it) softens. Remove from heat and add the capsicum strips and season to taste. Set aside or chill overnight until you are ready to make your omelettes.

Omelettes: Lightly beat the eggs and season with a little salt and pepper. Heat a non-stick omelette pan or small fry pan over high heat. Add half the oil and half the butter and swirl around the pan to coat the base completely.

Spoon or pour half the egg mixture into the base of the pan and tilt the pan to coat the bottom completely. Let the egg firm up over the next thirty seconds, then spoon half the tomato mixture across one half of the omelette.

Using a spatula or fish slice, carefully fold the other half of the omelette over the filling. The egg in the middle will still be very runny but it will cook and set over the next half a minute. It’s important to fold it NOW before the omelette sets so hard it splits as you fold it in half.

Cook for a further twenty seconds then gently shake the omelette onto a warmed plate. Don’t make others wait while you cook the second one – serve it immediately and let the lucky recipient eat it straight away, without ceremony.

COST

$5.25 for two people